It was a surreal moment of local sports history, seeing the Florida Panthers take the ice on the Miami Marlins’ field. There’s a hockey rink stretching crosswise from about third base to first base, an oval on the diamond.
“It’s great to be a part of it,” said Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, after the team practiced on the Winter Classic ice. “It’s good, it’s fun experience.”
The annual Winter Classic is supposed to be fun, for the players and the fans, and it is an absolute spectacle. The Panthers are playing the New York Rangers Friday night so the field around the rink is divided between a beach theme and a winter city theme. It’s impressive from every angle.
“It just feels big,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “Maybe it’s just the fact that they’re gonna open up the roof and you’re actually outdoor, on an outdoor rink, ODR in Canada, that’s how every one of these guys started, from the north anyway, so there’s a certain amount of feeling of play that’s in these games that’s not in the regular season grind.”
The players were equal parts impressed and amused. The Panthers are using the Marlins locker room so they feel a little like fish out of water.
“It’s not the league’s first rodeo, they seem to know what they’re doing and how to put on a good show and to be part of it is pretty special,” said Panthers winger Sam Reinhart.
So what should fans expect? After walking around the main concourse of Loan Depot Park, it seems that in general, the best seats for baseball are the worst seats for this hockey game. All the seats are far away from the rink, so the higher you sit, the more of the game you can see. But sightlines are not the point, the Winter Classic is all about raising the sport’s profile by providing a unique showcase. In past years it has been played mostly in football and baseball stadiums in northern cities. Bringing the game to Little Havana is certainly a departure.
“The closest you’re gonna get to an outdoors game that people down here don’t get to experience, a different level of excitement and a different insight as to what we grow up with as kids playing pond hockey outdoors in the winter, so it’s a special way for people to get to grow the love for the game down here,” said Brad Marchand, who has played in the Classic several times when he was with the Boston Bruins.
Reporters who cover the sport and the Panthers say the value in this game goes far beyond the standings as teams jockey for position.
“They’re showcasing Miami, they’re showcasing the team nationwide, they’re showcasing the community, and that’s a great thing,” said Roy Bellamy, host of the Hockey Show.
The game itself, though, is important for both teams. Panthers fans will be heartened to know injured stars Matthew Tkachuk and Alexandar Barkov were on the ice today, but neither is ready to play Friday night, with Barkov probably out until at least the start of the playoffs.
As for the ice quality at Loan Depot Park, Maurice said it was perfect, and certainly much better than the “slush” in the old Miami Arena, where the Panthers used to play.